Treasures from the New World, Vol. 3 Works by Paulo Porto Alegre, Gnatalli, Jennifer Higdon, Luiz João, Ronaldo Miranda, Marlos Nobre and Roberto Sierra Marcelo Barboza (flute), Fabio Zanon (guitar), Clélia Iruzun (piano) SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0669 73:12 mins
SOMM’s Treasures from the New World series aims to showcase and throw new light on music from the Americas. Its third volume focuses on music by six Brazilian composers and one American composer (Jennifer Higdon), with several works receiving their debut recordings here and others rarely recorded. The selected works offer several lenses through which to view American musical traditions, with Nobre’s Desafio No. 37 setting up a jousting dynamic between guitar and piano to reflect Brazil’s troubadours, and Sierra’s Tres Crónicas del Descubrimiento evoking the sounds and native groups of the Caribbean. Against the backdrop of a fairly tonal programme, works by Jennifer Higdon and Marlos Nobre offer an exciting contemporary contrast at the midpoint, with experimentations in timbre and tonal structures.
Guitarist Fabio Zanon is a constant throughout the programme, with considered, light articulation and lively rhythms in dialogue with his colleagues on piano and flute. With consistent performances of technically demanding material, the recordings have only received a light-touch edit. Tuning sometimes wavers on the flute, which is a disappointing distraction from the otherwise smooth blend of sounds. Its line would also benefit from a lighter touch to bring it closer to the articulation of the guitar, as there are a few instances in Alegre’s Choro Suite where it lags behind and the cohesion is momentarily lost. These are vibrant, lively interpretations of music that deserves to be more present in the recorded canon.
Freya Parr
